PSAT Night Presentation - CD Hylton High School

National Merit ScholarshipCompetition• Based on total PSAT score from Junior year• Semifinalist – varies year to year, state to state –somewhere between 201 to 221• Requires a “qualifying” SAT score (2000+) by fallof the senior year• Almost all Semifinalists become Finalists• Roughly half of Finalists receive monetary awards

Going from the PSAT to the SAT• Length is the biggest difference – over 4 hours forthe SAT• Essay section that wasn’t present on PSAT• A handful of new Algebra 2 topics in Math

The SAT : Format and Scoring• The SAT has three sections : Math, CriticalReading, and Writing• Each section is scaled from 200-800• The national average for each section isroughly 500• Scoring• One raw score point gained for each correct answer• 1/4 raw point taken away for each incorrect multiple choice answer• No penalty or gain for omitted questions or incorrect answers on grid-ins

The SAT Reasoning TestCritical Reading 320 minutesMath 320 minutesCritical Reading 125 minutesMath 125 minutesWriting 210 minutesExperimentalSection25 minutesEssay25 minutesWriting 125 minutesCritical Reading 225 minutesTotal Time:3 hours, 45 minutesMath 225 minutes

The ACT : Format and Scoring• The ACT has four sections : English, Reading,Math, and Science.• Each section is scored on a scale from 1 to 36• The national average for each section isroughly 21

The ACTReading35 minutesScience35 minutesEnglish45 minutesTotal Time:Math60 minutes2 hours, 55 minutes or3 hours, 25 minutes withoptional essay

SAT Subject Tests• Each test is one hour in length• Achievement-based tests, measuringknowledge learned from college-level coursesin the following areas:ENGLISH- LiteratureHISTORY- U.S. History, World HistoryMATH- Mathematics Level 1, Mathematics Level 2SCIENCE- Biology E/M, Chemistry, PhysicsLANGUAGES- Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Modern Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Japanese,Korean

Testing TimelineSophomore YearJunior YearSenior Year* If applicable

School CR Middle 50% Math Middle 50% Writing Middle 50%Harvard 700-800 700-790 690-790Duke 660-750 680-790 680-780Columbia 680-760 680-780 670-760Tufts 670-750 670-740 670-740Johns Hopkins 630-730 650-750 630-730Georgetown 620-730 630-730 630-730William and Mary 630-740 620-710 620-710University of Virginia 590-700 610-720 600-700George Washington 600-690 600-690 600-690University ofMaryland570-680 600-700 NAVirginia Tech 530-630 570-670 530-630George Mason 500-600 520-610 NAVCU 480-580 480-580 470-560Salem State 430-530 430-540 NAVirginia State 410-480 400-480 NA

Test PreparationFind the best option for you:• 1) Prep on your own• 2) Classroom Program• 3) Individual Tutoring• 4) Hybrid Program